Where Men Win Glory, by Jon Krakauer

September 11, 2001 marked a tragic day in the history of the United States; a terrorist attack had left the country shaken. It did not take long to determine those who were behind the attack and a call for retribution swept through the nation. Citizens in a wave of patriotism signed up for military service and the United States found resounding international support for their efforts in the war on terror. Little opposition was raised at the removal of the Taliban regime and there was much support for bringing Osama Bin Laden and the leaders of al-Qaeda to justice. Approval abroad diminished approximately a year and a half later when Afghanistan became a stepping stone to the administration’s larger ambition, the invasion of Iraq. The administration would invent several stories and in some cases remain silent of the truth where would prove positive for the Iraqi invasion. It seems they were willing to say anything to promote the largely unpopular and unnecessary war they were resolved on engaging in.

Bush had been eager to go to war with Iraq from the moment he stepped into office and the administration's focus was chiefly on Iraq even before the war in Afghanistan had begun. In Where Men Win Glory, the text reveals that “in November 2001, President Bush and Vice President Cheney had instructed Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to secretly create a detailed plan for the invasion of Iraq” (Krakauer 192).

Though it is almost unthinkable, the United States had been attacked this very month by al-Qaeda. The government should have been focused on capturing Osama Bin Laden and disbanding the terrorist group al-Qaeda. Instead, they were fashioning Iraqi invasion plans. Krakauer establishes additional proof of this stating, “the p...

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...aq was transformed into an inspirational message that served instead to support the nation’s foreign policy wars in Iraq and Afghanistan” (Luo 18). An article from the U.S.News & World Report furthers this concept. The report suggest that “it is most likely no accident that both the Lynch and Tillman incidents occurd during periods when bad news dominated the coverage” (Whitelaw 39). The toppling of the statue at Firdos also helped to ignite support for the war efforts, rendering belief that the invasion was a success and that the war was almost over. Even at this staged celebration, as editors rushed to get their reporters to the scene some reporters could not make it to the area because of the dangerous conditions and the ongoing fighting. As related in THE TOPPLING, “[the journalist] could not provide reports of the wars end, because the war had not ended” (Mass).